Flowers and Chocolates
by Black.Rose.Authoress
Summary: In which we see how the slightly less-than-sane citizens of Pleasantville show their love on Valentine's Day. Gen!flip and Gakuen AU.
1. Chapter 1: Antonio & Lovina

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 1: Antonio & Lovina**

This was absolutely _ridiculous_.

Lovina took a deep breath and peeked out from behind her current hiding place—behind the door to the girl's bathroom, if you had to know. Thank God, it was all clear... No sign of _him_.

Good. Maybe now she could finally make her way to class. She only had a few more minutes before she was officially late for the fifth time this semester. _Always his fault, by the way..._

"There you are, _Lovinita_~!"

And _shit_.

Lovina turned at the voice shouting down the hallway, feeling her stomach twist into a weird combination of happy excitement and complete and utter terror. Because her stomach was fucked up like that. Only a fucked up stomach would feel any happy flutters at hearing _his _voice right now.

After what he'd _done_ to her.

"Lovi~" At least he was alone. And his arms were empty.

She sighed and took a step into the hallway, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot in an irritated tempo as she watched her fiancé—oh God, it _still _felt weird to call him that—almost fall over himself in his haste to reach her.

"What do you want, you bastard?"

Antonio's bright smile fell slightly at that and she felt a slight—_very slight_—twinge of guilt. But then she reminded herself of everything that he'd done to her today and the twinge of guilt instantly evaporated. Because he was an idiot and he'd been torturing her for the past five hours of her life.

"I wanted to know if you'd let me walk you to class?" And he offered a shy smile and held out his hand and _oh God, stupid fluffy feelings needed to burn in Hell_...

She rolled her eyes, but then accepted the offered hand. "Fine, but this had better mean that you're _done_."

"Done?" He turned his bright green eyes on her and he had _better_ not be trying to pull the innocent act on her. Not after today. "Done with what?"

"You know what."

"_De la Sierra Morena,  
>Cielito lindo, vienen bajando,<br>Un par de ojitos negros.  
>Cielito lindo, de contrabando."<em>

Oh God, they were back.

"That!" And she spun around and pointed toward...toward... Toward the mariachi band that had been following her all day long_._

And she wished she was making that up. But, no, she had woken up this morning to a legitimate mariachi band playing outside her window. All dressed up in their Mexican blanket things and their big sombreros. And they'd followed to school and been following her around, singing romantic crap to her in Spanish. And okay, yeah, the guy with the guitar had a nice voice and was pretty cute, actually—hey, just because she was engaged didn't mean she wasn't allowed to _look _; besides, Antonio had somehow beat him in the looks department by a little bit—but that was beside the point. Antonio had hired a _mariachi band _to serenade her for Valentine's Day.

She'd always known that Antonio was an idiot, but this was...this was just beyond anything that she'd experienced before.

And not only had he hired—well, not technically _hired_; apparently he knew a guy from his tango class who played in a mariachi band—this band to follow her around. Oh no, that apparently wasn't enough. He'd also been _stalking_ her all day, throwing some random gift at her every five minutes or so. A big box of chocolates, a tomato plushie, a bunch of roses. She'd had no idea what to do with them, so she'd ended up squishing everything into her locker, praying that he'd just _quit it sooner or later_.

But of course not.

God, she hated Valentine's Day.

And she may not _completely_ hate her fiancé, who now turned his head and sent her a happy little grin as he swung their arms between them, but it sure wasn't for want of him _trying_.

* * *

><p>AN: So here begins our Valentine's Day compilation, or as I shall henceforth call it, The Pleasantville LOVE LOVE Series. So up from now until Valentine's Day (would've started two days ago, but I _had _to go and catch the flu, damnit) I'm gonna be posting short little one shots about Valentine's Day. And how our favourite couples show their loooooooooove.

Most of the ways they show their love are insane, by the way.

And these are all going to be taking place on the same day, btw. So, it's the Valentine's Day right after Just a Little Push.

How Antonio managed to get a mariachi band in the school? Mr. Roma is the principal. He thought the idea was hilarious and totally gave him the go ahead.


	2. Chapter 2: Gillian & Mattea

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 2: Gillian & Mattea**

"Isn't it awesome?"

Mattie nodded and took the box in her hands, giving a quiet sigh of relief as she did so. Thank God, Gill had actually listened to her for once.

She'd gotten her something _normal_. Just a normal box of chocolates.

Well, mostly normal. It was shaped like a chick—she wasn't sure where in the world Gill had gotten a box of chocolates shaped like a chick, but she figured it was better not to know—and it felt like it was half-empty. But still. More normal than she'd been expecting.

"This is really nice, Gill." She smiled, passing the box to one hand so she could reach into her backpack and pull out her Valentine's Day present for her girlfriend—a huge stuffed chick, because she'd known that getting Gill anything with sugar was a disaster just asking to happen. "And this is for you."

"Aww!" Gill squealed in excitement and then suddenly _attacked _her. "He's so cute!"

Mattie glanced around for a moment, rather thankful that no one they knew was watching. It was still so weird to be so...open about this. That she was dating another girl and everything. Of course—unfortunately of course—they still received plenty of the dirty looks whenever they did anything like this, but for the most part people were just ignoring them.

And Mattie was suddenly pulled out of her thoughts when her lips were suddenly covered by a mouth that tasted faintly of chocolate.

No need to question where the other half of her chocolate had gone.

"So," Gill questioned after she'd...unfortunately...pulled back, "You're coming over to my house tonight, right?" Her smile slipped into a slightly evil smirk. "I kicked Ludwig out of the house so _hopefully _he and Feli can actually get somewhere and Mutti and Vati are going out to some schmancy-dancy hotel, so we'll have the _whole _house to ourselves."

Mattie immediately blushed. "I—we shouldn't talk about something like this in the hallway..."

"We're not talking about anything _bad_~" Her smirk only grew more evil as she hissed out the last word. Making it sound much _much _worse than it needed to sound. "Unless you want to, of course. I don't mind telling everyone about what we _do _together. They'd be totally jealous about how awesome we are together."

And Mattie knew her face had to be _beet _red right now.

Which was why she was rather happy when she suddenly heard someone shouting something-or-other from down the hallway. Hooray for distractions. At least, she thought so until she actually heard what they were _saying._

"Look, it's the sexy cop!"

"Oooh, Sexy Cop! What's he doing here?"

"Dude, why are there a bunch of speakers down there? Is he giving a concert?"

"No, I think those are for that mariachi band..."

And she knew that things were only about to get worse when she saw that Gillian had started grinning even more evilly than before. "Awesome! He's right on time!"

"Who's right on time for _what_?"

And Gillian completely ignored her, _of course_. Instead, she ran off down the hallway, pushing a bunch of people aside in the process, and then pushed her way to the front of the crowd gathering in front of one of the open windows. Leaning out so far that Mattie was terrified she was about to fall out.

"Hi, Leon!"

...what was she doing to this poor guy _now_?

"Gillian Beilschmidt, I am going to _kill _you for this."

"You can't kill me." And she was going to fall out of the window in about two seconds. Mattie hurried forward, apologising about a hundred times as she made her way through the crowd to stand beside her girlfriend. "You'd lose your badge if you killed me!"

"It'd be worth it." And Leon was standing down beneath the window, right next to a _giant _stereo speaker that was attached by a long extension cord to a blue truck which was just _sitting _right there on the quad.

There went her _normal _Valentine's Day.

"So guess what I did, Mattie?" Gill now turned to her, thankfully crawling back inside the building as she did so. "Since Tonio wouldn't let me use his mariachi band, I decided that I'd get _Leon _to sing for you! Isn't that awesome? 'Cause he can sing really awesomely!"

Oh God, this poor guy...

"Gill, that's really sweet, but I don't think..."

"Oh my God, Sexy Cop can _sing_?" And a bunch of the other girls now started leaning out of the window at this, shouting down at the poor man.

He was going to be mentally traumatised and it was going to be all her fault.

"Sing it, Leon!" Gill suddenly called down.

"Yeah, Sexy Cop, sing!" Another girl echoed.

Mattie felt like her face was about to spontaneously combust.

"Gillian, you never said I was going to have to sing in front of your entire school!"

"Yeah!" And that call came from the floor above. A _very _familiar voice. "Take it off!"

"Fuck you, Francis!"

And that was the moment that Mattie turned and _fled_.

* * *

><p>AN: Ha, like Gill would do Valentine's Day _normally_. Silly Mattie. Silly silly Mattie.

And how Gillian even got Leon to agree to this? She just asked Big Mike _very sweetly _if she'd ask Leon for her. And Leon cannot refuse his grandmother anything... Because the consequences would be more horrible than having to sing in front of a bunch of insane high schoolers in the most embarrassing setting ever.

Just think about that for a moment...

Also, the song he's supposed to/may sing? "Kiss the Girl" from the Little Mermaid.

And yes, he's got an _insanely _gorgeous voice. ;)


	3. Chapter 3: Arthur & Francis

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 3: Arthur & Francis**

This _should_ be easy. Arthur knew that this should be _incredibly _easy. All he had to do was walk right over there and hand her the box with a quick remark of "Happy Valentine's Day". Then maybe he would give her a gentlemanly peck on the cheek and offer to carry her books to class.

Hell, Francis had already done the same thing to ninety percent of the school's single population. And some of the not-so-single population. And of course, he'd done so minus the "gentlemanly" part. Because he was a bloody frog.

And yet... Arthur was currently standing over here, near the boys' bathroom, watching as Ally chatted with a few of her friends. Ever the popular one, of course.

It felt wrong to just barge over and offer her his chocolates, but he wasn't sure what other time of the day he'd have a chance to see her like this. And he'd worked on the chocolates all night to make sure that they would be ready for this morning. The first few batches had sort of... not gone well.

"Bonjour, mon ami! What do you have there?"

Arthur may have jumped a foot or so in the air at that sudden voice coming from _right _next to his ear. Bloody _frog_.

And his annoyance at the obnoxious menace only increased when he turned and suddenly had a _rose _shoved right into his face, the petals tickling his nose for a moment before he jerked his head back.

"What are you doing here, git? Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

Francis grinned, shaking the flower in his face a few times. "Cher, you out of everyone should know that Monsieur Roma considers the sharing of l'amour~ on Saint Valentin to be much more important than attending classes."

Yes, Arthur knew. He'd _tried_ talking to the principal about it. _Tried _being the key word. If it weren't for Mr. Beilschmidt's words of reason, Mr. Roma probably would have actually _cancelled_ all classes for today.

"Now, what do you _have_,cher?" Francis questioned again, startling Arthur when he suddenly grabbed the bag of chocolates right out of his hand.

"Hey!"

"Oh non." And Francis was now staring at the chocolates with an expression of horror on his face. "Do not tell me, cher. You made these yourself?"

Arthur scowled in response and grabbed the bag back. "You just said not to tell you, git."

"Non, non, mon ami." Francis shook his head and attempted to grab the bag back, but Arthur was prepared now and jerked them out of his reach. "You cannot give those to Allison. You'll poison the poor girl."

"Shut up, git." Arthur sent the other boy a glare and turned, now determined to ignore the frog. Since Francis _always _made fun of his cooking. Just because _he_ knew how to cook all of those ridiculous _French _dishes didn't mean that everyone else's cooking was terrible. He just had no _taste_. "I tried them this morning and they taste fine."

The idiot groaned, shaking his head. "Cher, you are the _only _one on earth who can taste your cooking and think that it is 'fine'. Your poor taste buds must have been destroyed ages ago."

"Shut up."

"It is true." He smirked that _annoying _smirk of his and then continued, "Well, I must go and continue to share my l'amour with the other students. But before I go..." And he suddenly darted surprisingly quickly, shoving the rose into Arthur's face so he had to jump back to keep from getting stabbed by the stupid thing.

And grabbed the bag of chocolates.

"Francis!"

"You will thank me for this later, cher~!" And he was already halfway down the hallway, weaving through the students while waving back toward the now-enraged Arthur.

He would have taken off right after him—would've _murdered _him—if it weren't for the very unexpected voice that suddenly startled him.

"Dude, there you are! I've been looking all over for you, Artie!"

_Fuck that frog._

* * *

><p>AN: I didn't necessarily say that they all had to be actual "couples", did I? Did I? I might have. Either way, this one involved my favourite frenemies. Because I needed a chapter just for them and their stupid fights over silly things... Don't worry. You'll get some Arthur/Ally later. When you shall see how poor Arthur deals with the fact that he now has no chocolates to give her. Poor Arthur. :(


	4. Chapter 4: Ludwig & Feliciana

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 4: Ludwig & Feliciana**

It was almost like being at a carnival~

Which was lots of fun, because Feliciana _loved_ carnivals. Whenever one came to town, she'd always beg her nonno or Lovi or Ludwig to take her. And then she'd spend the entire day having tons and _tons_ of fun. They'd eat cotton candy and watch all of the performers and ride on the rides... Those days were always her favourite days.

And today, her _school _was almost exactly like a carnival.

Because it was all decorated! There were paper hearts _everywhere_—hanging from the walls and the ceilings. Pink and red streamers hung from the doorframes; it seemed like almost _everyone _was dressed up in Valentine's colours.

There were still classes, but lots of the teachers had decided to just do easy stuff today since most of the students were too excited to concentrate.

Feli was really happy that her nonno was the principal. He made school _so _much more fun.

And there was even a mariachi band wandering around, playing music and singing to people! That was one of the best parts of the entire day!

They _had _been following Lovi around until an hour or so ago. But then Feli's sister had yelled at them to stop and they'd decided to just go off and play to other people too. Which honestly, Feli thought was much more fun than when they'd just been playing for Lovi.

She squeezed the arm that she was currently attached to and looked up with an excited, "Ve~ Everyone looks like they're having so much fun! Don't they, Ludwig?"

It was her favourite time of the school day too! Lunch time! And she even knew that they'd be having spaghetti today. Spaghetti covered with Grandpa Roma's super tasty, super secret, super _special_ tomato sauce. And there'd be special red and pink Valentine's Day cupcakes for dessert.

If only Ludwig would be more excited about everything... Right now he was just walking along, not looking very excited at _all_. Just walking along like it was a normal, boring day at school.

"Ve~ doesn't Ludwig like Valentine's Day?"

And she was rather startled when Ludwig stopped _dead_ in his tracks at her words. Managing to jerk her slightly.

"Ludwig?"

He was turning all red now... And was refusing to look at her, which was very strange, unless...

Oh no! Maybe Ludwig was being so quiet because he was _sick_. And she hadn't noticed because she was so excited about Valentine's Day and getting to have some of Grandpa Roma's super tasty, secret, and special spaghetti for lunch!

She'd been such a bad friend to poor Ludwig! She hadn't even noticed that he wasn't feeling well!

"J—ja," and now he finally spoke, which helped alleviate some of her panic. Because at least he hadn't lost his voice. That would just be sad. Feli couldn't imagine being so sick that you couldn't talk anymore. "I—I enjoy Valentine's Day. I—I actually had something I wanted to...to..."

Why was Ludwig's voice shaking so much? And why was he turning so red?

He must be _very _sick!

"It's okay, Ludwig!" And she hurriedly grabbed his hand before he could continue to talk—if he was sick, he should conserve his strength! "We can go to the Nurse's Office before we go to get Nonno's super tasty, super secret, super special spaghetti!"

"W—was?"

"Don't worry, Ludwig!" And she tugged—or attempted to tug; he didn't actually move at all—him back in the direction of the Nurse's Office. "We'll make sure you're all better so you can enjoy Valentine's Day!"

Except he didn't follow her. Instead he shook his head and managed to pull his head away. "Nein. Nein, Feli. I'm not sick. I needed to—to ask you something."

Ludwig wasn't sick?

Feliciana tilted her head to the side in confusion. Then why was he acted so funny? But then she nodded. "Ve, okay! What does Ludwig want to ask me?"

And now he started turning that funny shade of red again. Before he glanced around the hallway... Nobody was around; they were probably already all in the cafeteria, eating Nonno's delicious spaghetti. Hopefully they'd save some for her and Ludwig...

"I—I wanted to..." He hesitated and then reached into his pocket, pulling out a little dark blue box. "I got you this. Since it's Valentine's Day and that is the...traditional...time to do this."

Ve~?

She reached forward, taking the little box in her hands. Ludwig had gotten her a present? But she hadn't gotten him anything... She hesitated a moment, glancing up at her friend before removing the lid.

And inside was a little ring.

A _tomato_ ring.

She stared at it in surprise. And then smiled brightly. It was a ring with a little tomato on top! So _cute!_

"I—since it's Valentine's Day, I thought that it would be the appropriate time to tell you that I—that I—" Ludwig continued, turning even more and more red. "That I—that I—that I like you..."

"Ve~! I like you too, Ludwig!" She took the ring from the box and slid it onto her finger, admiring it for a moment before deciding that Ludwig needed to be thanked appropriately. With a _very _big hug! "Grazie!"

And he actually hugged her back!

* * *

><p>AN: Ludwig and Feli are adorable. And clueless.

Just as a note for anyone wondering, yes, Feli did just put the ring on her left ring finger. Which you know her sister's sure-as-hell gonna notice. Hehe.

And I didn't do this from Ludwig's POV because it's more fun to make this super ambiguous. Hehehe.

Hehehehehehe. I'm in an evil mood today.

Also, the song "Be My Valentine" by Svetlana Loboda (from the 2009 Eurovision) has henceforth become this story's theme song. Because I've had it on repeat while writing the past like three chapters. Although it doesn't really work with this chapter... (It will definitely work when I get to Franny's later chapter, though).


	5. Chapter 5: Arthur & Ally

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 5: Arthur & Ally**

"...And apparently the teachers've been trying to get him out of the janitor's closet _all _day. Dude, who would've imagined that _Berwald _would have a mariachi-phobia. How does that even _happen_?"

Ally's voice was overly-loud, as _always_. Honestly, the girl seemed to have _no_ internal sense of her own almost constantly excessive volume. Her words echoed down the hallway, probably interrupting classes in session and people trying to study.

Arthur would have told her to quiet down, but... Well...

But, he was rather happy—for once—that she was being as loud as she was. Because she hadn't yet mentioned _anything _about Valentine's Day. Or the present that Arthur _should _have for her and now didn't because of that blasted frog.

Arthur shifted his books in his arms. He'd wanted to offer to carry her books before they started walking together, but she hadn't given him a chance. Since she was apparently too excited about finding out about Berwald's mariachi phobia. "Well," he answered, "I seem to remember that it involved Gill and Big Mike..." Of course. Because who else _would _it involve?

She pouted, switching her books to her opposite arm so she could reach into her pocket with her right hand and pull out a _gigantic _lollipop. Which she began unwrapping without a word of explanation. "I should've known the evil albino was behind it. She's behind everything nefarious that happens around here."

Arthur decided to ignore that comment. As he instead continued to wrack his mind for a suitable replacement Valentine's present.

Maybe he should ask her out to a nice, fancy restaurant? But, then again, Ally never appreciated his taste in restaurants. Flowers? No, flowers were tacky and expensive and besides, _the frog _always handed out roses. And Arthur really _really_ hated Francis right now.

He could always go out and _buy _chocolates, but that was tacky too...

What was he supposed to do? This was their first Valentine's Day as a couple. It was supposed to be special.

"Earth to Artie~. Earth to Artie~. Come in, Artie."

And that was the moment when Arthur realised that he'd completely zoned out and stopped walking. And that Ally was now leaning close to him, her face only a few inches away from his.

He instantly felt his face heat up a few thousand degrees at that realisation and he hurriedly jerked backwards. Instantly switching to defensive mode, of course. Because that was what he did... "What do you want, git? I was just _thinking_..."

"I'm telling you this totally cool story and you're not even listening to me. Lame, bro. What're you thinking about that's so important."

"Nothing!" And he _knew _he'd said that too quickly. Because now her eyebrows rose in interest and now he _knew _that there was no way she was going to let up on him until he told her what he'd been thinking about.

"Duuuuuude~ now you gotta tell me! Was it something totally embarrassing?" She grinned and suddenly, for the second time today, Arthur had something snatched right of his hands. This time his books...

"Al!"

"Tell me!" She was holding them at arm's length—far above his head... This was the awful part of dating a girl who was taller than you were.

"Allison! Don't you dare..."

She jumped ahead of him, still grinning. "Come on! Tell me!"

"Give me my books, you git!"

Lovely way to spend a Valentine's Day, right? But Arthur didn't know what he was supposed to do now. Now that Francis had absolutely _ruined _his plans.

Except they were suddenly interrupted by a throat clearing from behind them. "Hello, Sir and Madam. Would either of you happen to know a Miss Allison Jones?"

And Arthur saw Ally's jaw drop and eyes widen in amazement in that moment. Which sent a wave of anxiety through him. Because he suddenly had the _feeling _that someone had done something very stupid. It was just a _sense_...

"Dude! That's so cool!"

And Arthur turned, mentally preparing himself so he could be ready for anything...

Then again, could you ever really be ready for _anything _in this town? Probably not. Since he honestly wasn't ready for what he saw in that next moment.

Namely an unknown man dressed up as _Batman _standing behind them. Holding a huge bouquet of red roses and box of chocolates.

Oh yes, someone had done something stupid.

"Hello, Miss Allison. I'm here on behalf of a Mr. Arthur Kirkland to wish you a happy Valentine's Day."

Someone had done something _incredibly _stupid.

* * *

><p>AN: Meh... Not so happy with this chapter. It's hard for me to write them as a couple since I haven't actually _made _them a couple yet. If that makes any sense, which it probably doesn't.

Ah well. Oh poor Arthur. His V-Day just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it?


	6. Chapter 6: Luca & Leni

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 6: Luca & Leni**

A romantic candle-lit dinner. A long soak in a hot, bubbling Jacuzzi. A quick, refreshing swim in the heated pool... It was all absolutely _perfect._

The perfect night.

Leni sighed in pleasure as she fell back against the _absurdly _comfortable bed in their hotel room. Heroically resisting the urge to just wrap herself up in all of these nice, warm blankets and drift off to sleep. She needed to be patient.

Luca was taking his shower now. Soon he'd come out; she just had to be _patient _and wait.

Although patience had never been one of her strongest virtues. Especially when it was their special Valentine's date night and every minute away from her husband felt like an eternity. At least the water wasn't running anymore, although knowing Luca, he'd probably make sure that he was _perfectly _presentable before coming out. Silly.

She hadn't been nearly so kind to him. Of course not. She'd made sure to come out with her hair falling loose, still-damp around her shoulders and with her shirt unbuttoned so that just a _hint _of red, lacy bra was visible. And she'd made sure to accentuate every movement of her hips as she walked unnecessarily around the room, exclaiming over all of the amenities. Bending over to look into the mini-fridge.

It'd been _fun_. She felt like a teenager again. Except that Luca now was a lot less blushy about it—only when she did something particularly _audacious _did he turn that light pink shade that amused her so much.

And now the door to the bathroom _finally _opened, revealing her husband, yes, completely dressed.

"You miss me?" she questioned, moving back so he could sit on the edge of the bed.

He bent down first, though, and gave her a soft peck on the lips. She knew she was smiling as he did so. "Always, schatzi."

"Good." She waited until he sat down and then continued, very conversationally. "So, you'll never guess what I found in Ludwig's sock drawer this morning."

One of the things that Leni adored about her husband was his almost-eerie ability to sense just what she wanted. Right now she wanted to _flirt_, which he seemed more than willing to accommodate. As he gave her a _look _and then smiled back, scooting closer. "And what did you find in Ludwig's sock drawer this morning?"

"A little blue velvet box with a ring inside it. A ring shaped like a tomato." Which had made her laugh quite a bit, actually. "Of course we know who that's for."

Except Luca gave her a look now that more-than-hinted that he _didn't _know who was it was for.

Ah... Leni loved her husband, she really did. But sometimes he could be quite dense. "For Feliciana, of course. I think our baby's _finally _going to ask her out."

"Oh..." And his expression was still rather confused. Which probably meant, knowing Luca, that he hadn't even realised that Ludwig _wanted _to ask her out. After all, this was the man who _she'd_ had to propose to because he hadn't realised how absolutely _madly _in love she was with him.

And, as she'd said before, patience wasn't one of her stronger virtues. If she'd waited for _him_, she'd probably still be waiting.

Didn't matter, though... She just nodded and then slid closer so she could rest her head against his shoulder, sighing warmly against his skin as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her even closer.

"Ich liebe dich," he murmured in her ear.

"Ich liebe dich auch." She smiled, and then lifted her head and pressed their lips together.

It was funny, how you could kiss someone that you were in love with hundreds and hundreds of times and it never grew old. She still felt the little thrill of excitement pass through her as his arms tightened around her and he pulled her closer.

She'd always considered herself lucky. She knew so many women who constantly fought with their husbands over this and that, more who'd gotten divorces, and then others like poor Gabi who'd been run off on. And she was lucky enough to have a wonderful husband and two beautiful children—both of whom were happy, healthy, and in first, teenager love.

So lucky. She was so _so _lucky.

* * *

><p>AN: Luca and Leni are cute and fluffy, yes. I like writing actual married couples who are still in love. I need to do it more often.

As random trivia fact of the day. Guess who actually might get to take a 4 week writing class this May? This chica! :D I'm super excited. Since I've never actually taken a writing class before even though I've wanted to ever since I was old enough that they actually offered it as an option.

Yeah, that's my life. Oh, and for those reading who have a tumblr. I might be creating a Pleasantville tumblr soon. Probably have it as an IC Gill's blog. So...does that sound like a good idea?


	7. Chapter 7: Heracles & Kiku

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 7: Heracles & Kiku**

Kiku had been dreading this day for _weeks_.

He'd been having nightmares about this day almost every night for the past _month_.

He was quite sure that he was developing an ulcer from worrying about this day.

...And nothing had happened yet.

_Nothing_ had happened yet and the day was almost over.

Well, at least none of the things that he'd been worrying about had happened yet. Other things had happened. He'd been wandering around the hallways for the past fifteen minutes or so and had snapped some photographs of random couples. A few of which he knew the Héderváry siblings would be very interested in buying.

An outdoor concert had spontaneously developed in the quad, featuring the mariachi band that Antonio had hired and Leon, who Gill had managed to get here somehow. Mr. Roma had even stopped classes for that.

But none of the things that Kiku had been dreading had happened...

And to be honest, he was slightly disappointed.

He hadn't even _seen_ Heracles today. Which wasn't _entirely _surprising. After all, Hera-kun wasn't in any of his classes and their lockers weren't close to each other's or anything. There was no real reason why they'd see each other today.

Well...besides the fact that it _was_ Valentine's Day.

He'd been walking by and taking pictures of couples all day; he'd watching them kiss, hold hands, give each other chocolates and other presents. And it'd only made him more and more aware of the fact that he hadn't seen Heracles _at all _today.

But there was no _reason _why he'd see Heracles today. After all, _he _was the one who'd asked Heracles to keep their...relationship...a secret from everyone else.

But...it would have been nice just to have _seen _him today.

Kiku had been walking through the almost-empty building—most people were still outside at the 'concert'—for the last few minutes, making his way to his locker. He'd get his backpack and then go back outside and take some more pictures. He'd probably follow Francis around for a bit... He was usually a good source of inspiration.

"Kiku."

And _that _probably took a few years off the end of his life...

Kiku turned toward the unexpected voice and felt his heart give a little jump of... Excitement? Nervousness? Because there was Heracles, leaning up against his locker. Looking like he'd just woken up from a nap.

"Ah, Hera-kun..." He'd frozen in the middle of the hallway. He was _very _thankful that no else was around right now. "Hello..."

Heracles just stood there for a moment, blinking slowly while watching him. Then he pushed himself away from the wall and began to walk toward him.

And Kiku felt his heart continue to skip around nervously.

"It's okay now?" And Heracles next words were slightly surprising. Surprising enough that Kiku just stared at him in confusion for a moment, unsure what in the world he was talking about. Until he motioned with his head toward the empty hallway and continued, "No one's here."

Ah, he must... Kiku felt his cheeks flush slightly. But it only took a moment of hesitation before he nodded and waited as Heracles crossed the hall. Lifting his head as the taller boy leaned down and then kissed him.

When in the world had he become so daring? He couldn't believe half of the things that he allowed himself to do around Heracles.

Maybe all the mangas were right. And falling in love _did_ make you go crazy.

* * *

><p>AN: Really short one for today. But I'm practicing with different length stories, so... *shrugs* Short one for today!

I was planning on stopping this story today, but I actually still have three more chapter ideas, so I guess we'll keep it up for a little longer. Hopefully that doesn't upset anyone too~ much. ;D

Can't you just picture Kiku going around being all ninja-like with his camera? Getting photos for the Hungary siblings. Because those two are insane, but their money is good.


	8. Chapter 8: Lovina & Feliciana

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 8: Lovina & Feliciana**

Where in the world _was _she?

Lovina was incredibly annoyed with her stupid little sister right now. _Incredibly _annoyed. Feli had _known _that she wanted to get home early tonight. It was _Lovi's _night to cook after all and she still had to go out to the corner store and get groceries. If they didn't get back soon, she'd be up all _night _making dinner.

She was probably somewhere with the stupid potato bastard. Stupid little sister. Stupid stupid stupid Feli.

"Where the hell is she?"

"Maybe she's talking with a friend!" And that overly-happy response just managed to annoy her more.

Although it reminded her of the other reason she'd wanted to get home early tonight; the fact that Antonio was coming over for dinner. And, well... She'd sort of, kind of wanted to have some time alone with him. Not for any mushy, gushy romantic reason or anything stupid like that! She just needed to talk with him about some stuff! Some totally not romantic, non-couply stuff.

...Damn it, fine. She wanted to talk to him about wedding-related stuff tonight. Because she'd been thinking about it almost _constantly_ for the past month or so. Driving herself _crazy_... She'd caught herself looking up wedding blogs online, fantasising about getting married out in the tomato fields; she'd even been having wedding-related dreams most nights.

And right now her _fiancé_ was holding her hands, swinging them back and forth like a little kid while smiling at her radiantly and disarmingly. The bastard.

"She's probably with the potato bastard," she replied, scowling at him. Partly out of annoyance at her sister and partly out of annoyance at _him _for being so fucking _gorgeous_, damn it.

"Ve~ Lovi!"

And _there_ was the idiot. Lovina hurriedly pulled her hands out of Antonio's grip—the last thing she wanted was for her sister to start going on about how _cute _they were—and turned on her little sister with a glare that would have stopped any intelligent person right in their tracks.

Feli just ignored it—or managed to somehow not notice it—and responded by _tackling _her with a hug. "I haven't seen you all day, Lovi!"

"I know." And it was all that potato bastard's fault. Lovi sent an annoyed glare toward him—he'd been following Feli at a safe distance—and was rather pleased when he immediately stopped in his tracks. Like a semi-intelligent, non-stupid-little-sister person. "It's going to be your fault if we have dinner late."

"I wanted to see the concert, though." She lifted her head and sent Lovi a _perfectly_ innocent smile. Too innocent to actually be innocent. "Antonio's friends were very good."

"Sí! They were, weren't they?" Oh God, don't encourage the idiot. Lovi had just _escaped _from that creepy mariachi band. "José is _very_ talented."

"Ve~" Feli answered with her weird little noise and suddenly Lovi's gaze settled on _something _that was resting on her little sister's finger. Something that hadn't been there when they left the house this morning. Something small and red...

It looked like a little tomato.

A little tomato on a _ring_.

A _ring_...

_Oh no. _That potato bastard had better not have...

"What's that?" she asked, trying to sound as normal as possible. And not like she wanted to _kill _a certain potato bastard.

Feli blinked in confusion for a moment, but then she realised what her sister was asking about. And she immediately grinned excitedly and held the ring up for her to see more clearly. "Ve~ It's a ring from Ludwig! Isn't it pretty?"

Oh yes, Lovina was going to _kill _the potato bastard.

"Why did _he_ give you a ring?" And she immediately sent a furious glare toward the potato bastard, who looked rather unnerved right now. As he should. Stupid potato bastard trying to take advantage of her little sister...

And it just ticked her off more when Feli sent her a sweet, ridiculously innocent and naive smile and responded, "Because we like each other!"

Yeah, that potato bastard was definitely dead meat.

* * *

><p>AN: More of the Valentine's story. Hoorah hoorah. Poor Ludwig. I feel bad for him. Having to deal with insanely overprotective older sister. Not fun.


	9. Chapter 9: Leon & Francis

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 9: Leon & Francis**

Leon was getting _way_ too used to this.

The door to his apartment was unlocked. Not surprising, as it seemed like he came home to an unlocked door more often than not nowadays. And the scent of chocolate was wafting out into the hallway.

Honestly, you would think he'd be safe _today_. It was _Valentine's_ Day, after all.

But no, that would be too much to ask for…

And the worst part? He was starting to get to the point where he didn't _mind_ coming home to someone else in his apartment… Which was one of the many signs that showed that this town was starting to drive him _completely_ insane.

He sighed at that thought as he cautiously repositioned in his arms the box that he'd carried with him from the car. The box that had led to his complete mortification, let it henceforth be remembered. His grandmother was honestly the most evil woman he had ever met…

He then pushed the door open, allowing more of the delicious scent to leak out into the hallway. Something very chocolatey was being made in his apartment and it smelled absolutely _fantastic_.

Which meant that he was actually a little surprised when he walked into the room and found Francis _not_ in the kitchen. Instead he found him sprawled out across the couch, lying on his stomach with his feet up on the armrest, watching as some woman on the television slapped a man right across the face.

He glanced up, though, when Leon opened the door and immediately grinned brightly. "Bonjour, cher! I was starting to worry that you weren't going to get here before I left!"

"Why are you here, Francis?" Leon really didn't know why he even bothered asking anymore. Force of habit, probably.

And the boy's grin only widened at the question as he sat up, motioning for Leon to sit beside him. "Why, I came to congratulate you on your _beautiful _concert. I never knew that you had such a lovely singing voice."

He'd known this was coming. There was no way he was ever going to live this down. "Shut up. I only did it because I needed to get this box from Grandmother."

And he probably shouldn't have said that, as Francis seemed to suddenly notice the box for the first time. And immediately perked up. "And what's in this 'box', cher? Anything interesting?"

Nosy. Everybody in this town was incredibly nosy. "No."

Of course that would only fuel Francis's curiousity. He tilted his head to the side slightly and stared at him with much-too-innocent eyes. And then changed the subject too quickly, "You are going out with someone tonight, oui?"

"No." And Francis had _not _been the first person to ask him that today. His grandmother had gone on for what seemed like forever about all of these lovely single ladies…and _men_…that she knew and could introduce him to. "I'm staying in today…"

"So dull, cher." He sighed and then lay back on the couch again, glancing toward the television. Where the same man and woman were now making out… Because that made sense.

"Well, what about you?" Leon set the box down now, pushing it against the wall with his foot before he walked over and sat down on the couch, pushing Francis's legs out of the way. "I'd expected you to be off with somebody."

"I will. I decided to come visit you first." And then he lifted his legs up and threw them across Leon's lap, sending a smirk in response to the other man's glare and attempt to push them away, which he resisted rather determinedly. "I have a date with a rather lovely lady from school at seven. We're going to a fantastic little Greek restaurant I found a few weeks ago, then out for some dancing. I'll drop her off at home around ten or so and then I'm meeting with Erik…" He grinned. "_Very _attractive. We'll probably go out for more dancing, some drinks, then rent a hotel room somewhere…"

Leon had finally managed to push the legs off. Not that it would probably help much, since Francis was obnoxiously stubborn about things like this. "You're too young to drink."

Completely unrepentant look. "Technically."

"And you do realise I'm a police officer and you really shouldn't be telling me about this?"

"Oui."

…You know, this kid was one of the most frustrating human beings that Leon had ever met. And he dealt with _criminals _as part of his job.

"That still leaves me an hour before I have to leave, though, _cher_~" And _that _tone was definitely flirting. Leon had gotten rather good at telling when Francis was flirting with him. Since it happened so often. "There's so much that we could do in an hour, _oui~?_"

"No."

And Francis pouted at that. Like a little kid that'd just been told that he couldn't have his dessert until after dinner or something like that. "You're no fun."

"I try not to be."

And Francis leaned his back against the arm rest again, throwing his legs across Leon's lap. _Again_. "And after I just made you homemade chocolate-covered cherries. You'd think I'd get _some _sort of reward. You won't even let me know what's in the box."

At least that was safer ground. _And homemade chocolate-covered cherries sounded delicious_. "I told you, it's nothing interesting."

"Of course it's something interesting, otherwise you would tell me, oui?"

Not necessarily… Leon sighed and then pushed the legs off again, this time getting off of the couch—conceding the victory to his personal home-invader—and wandering over to the box. "It's just stuff for tonight."

And Francis perked up at that again, sitting upright and watching as he picked it up and carried it over to the kitchen table. "I thought you said you weren't doing anything tonight."

"I said I wasn't _going_ anywhere tonight. I actually have someone coming over…"

"_Oui?_" And now he sounded incredibly interested. "And who is _that_?"

And Leon was about to answer—_how _he was going to answer, he wasn't entirely sure—when the doorbell suddenly rang.

Shit. He'd hoped she wouldn't turn up early… At least not until he'd gotten rid of Francis.

Who had jumped up from the couch and was now halfway to the door. And had it open before Leon could protest. And of course he greeted the person with an overly happy-sounding, "Bonjour!"

And probably terrified the poor woman standing in front of his door… And if not her, then he definitely scared the little girl held in her arms.

"Francis!"

* * *

><p>AN: Okay, ending there because this is dragging on too long. Even though it's totally not finished…

;P Bleh. This chappy sucked. I'm sorry. I've been having a really crappy last couple of weeks and crappy weeks make my writing crappy.

Why is there a woman at Leon's door? Why does she have a small child? Will Francis _ever _succeed in getting Leon to actually do something with him? (Probably not. ;P) What is in the mysterious box? Possibly tune in next time. Or not, depends if I want to finish this up/you guys want to know what happens.


	10. Chapter 10: Leon & Francis 2

**Flowers and Chocolates**

**Part 10**

There were certain people in the world who were just incredibly fun to mess with. Their complete overreactions were always so amusing and worth any pain that that they may later impart upon you. Arthur was one of those people. So was Leon.

And Francis rather enjoyed invading Leon's apartment. For various reasons...

Leon's responses to his invasions were always rather entertaining, for one thing. Since he never seemed entirely sure how to respond; whether he should kick him out or just let him stay. And, since he was never sure what he should do, he invariably _let_ him stay, which was usually enjoyable. Francis had noticed rather early-on that Leon seemed to dislike being alone for any amount of time. Which meant that his home invasions had a positive impact, right?

There was also the fact that Leon's apartment had a rather nice kitchen that was usually stocked with the ingredients Francis needed to make delicious treats. And there weren't any cooks wandering around complaining at him for being in their way... Always a plus.

And he actually had someone to _talk _to when he was in Leon's apartment. Unlike when he was locked away in his own home.

Anyway, so there were reasons why he enjoyed invading Leon's space. And why he'd decided to come over here today before his Valentine's dates.

And now he was staring at a woman standing in Leon's door, holding a toddler in her arms. Which hadn't been what he expected to see when he opened the door...

Not that Leon even allowed him to say anything more than "Bonjour" to the mystery woman, as he immediately pushed him out of the way after saying his name scoldingly. As if Francis had done something wrong by answering the door and being hospitable.

"Hi, Tracy. Sorry about that. Francis was just leaving."

No he wasn't. He still had an hour before he had to leave. He'd even changed before coming here—into a pair of jeans that fit absolutely perfectly and a sky blue, silk dress shirt that was unbuttoned the exact number of buttons... You know, he honestly had no idea how Leon could keep refusing his offers.

And now he was curious. Who was she? A date? Leon wasn't dating anyone, though. Francis would _definitely_ know if Leon was dating someone.

He had to admit that she was attractive, though. So he supposed it was possible. She was probably in her mid to late-twenties with dark skin and short, dark curly hair that was held back with a maroon scarf. And she was wearing a maroon and black patterned cocktail dress, large silver hoop earrings... She definitely looked like she was going on a date.

Since when did Leon date without _him _knowing? Francis knew about _everyone's _love lives in this town. It was practically his job.

"Oh, it's fine," this Tracy woman replied, waving Leon's remark away with a flick of her wrist. "He just startled me a little bit."

Francis ignored the look that Leon sent him. That had definitely not been his fault.

"Yes, well…" And he was still sending Francis a look like he should apologise or something. "How's Kaylin doing today?"

_Kaylin?_

And then she shifted the weight of the little girl on her hip, re-drawing Francis's attention to the child. Who was just resting there with her head against the woman's chest. Silent. She was pretty cute, wearing a little sweater with a big red heart on the front and a pair of red sweatpants with her dark, curly hair up in pigtails.

Francis had almost managed to completely forget about her, more curious about Leon's new date. A single mother perhaps?

That could work, he supposed. Leon was good with kids from what he'd seen.

"She's a little tired. Had a pretty busy day in pre-school, didn't you?" She kissed the girl on the forehead, and then sent Leon a smile. "It's really so sweet of you to do this for us. It's been ages since Benjamin and I have been able to go out."

Wait…

"No problem at all." And Leon reached forward at that, waiting as the woman entangled the child from herself and then settled her in his arms.

Wait, he was…

"Kaylin and I always have lots of fun together. Don't we, Kay?"

The girl didn't respond. She just stared up at Leon with chocolatey-coloured eyes, apparently not at all bothered by the fact that she'd just been handed off to some strange man by a woman who Francis assumed was her mother. Which probably meant that she knew Leon pretty well.

"You be a good girl for Mr. Leon now, sweetie," the Tracey woman continued, leaning over to brush a curl behind her ear.

_On Valentine's Day?_

Francis had always known that Leon was pretty clueless when it came to romance, but he really couldn't be _this _bad. Francis knew for a _fact _that there were plenty of people in this town who would go on a date with the extremely attractive cop in a heartbeat. Including yours truly.

And the woman now bent down and picked up a bag that had been out of Francis's sight. "I brought her rabbit. If she gets fussy, then you can just give her him to play with."

"Sure." And Leon was _completely _ignoring Francis's presence right now, which was kind of annoying. "I went to my grandmother's house just today and got a bunch of my dad and my old toys, so she should have plenty to play with."

Francis's eyes flickered over to the mysterious box. Toys?

"And you're sure it's no problem?"

"No problem at all. I was planning on staying in today anyway. Now I have some company."

…_And what about _him_? _

Francis sent Leon a slightly dirty look at that statement, which was completely ignored. He _knew _that Leon had noticed it, though, since he smiled slightly and turned away, lightly bouncing the girl in his arms. In a way that was definitely calculated.

The woman only remained for a few more moments, quickly going over her contact numbers, feeding times, bedtimes, Leon nodding occasionally and giving reassuring answers. And then she left, her dress swishing around her knees.

"You're _baby-sitting _on Valentine's Day."

Leon nodded once, shrugging with the arm not filled with a rather clingy toddler. "Yeah."

Francis wasn't entirely sure why he was so surprised. It was such a _Leon _thing to do. To babysit for one of his neighbours on the day of l'amour... Actually helping another couple celebrate their Valentine's Day together.

Still, he was a little disappointed that that woman _hadn't _been Leon's date. It would've been another thing to hold over the man's head.

* * *

><p>AN: Not nearly as interesting at you thought? Lol.

Still, Leon's a sweetie. Being helpful so the lady can celebrate V-Day with her husband. And omg, the little girl in my head is like the cutest little thing ever. Another moment I wish I could draw, because there's so much adorableness.


	11. Chapter 11: Gabi & Antonio

A/N: This story takes place in the past, when Antonio's about 5. Soon after he and his mom have moved to Pleasantville.

* * *

><p><strong>Flowers and Chocolates<strong>

**Part 11: Gabi & Antonio**

St. Valentine's Day.

Such an odd holiday. And it was such a big deal in this country. The stores were filled with pink and red signs, candy boxes in the shape of hearts, cute stuffed animals… This year Ferdinand had bought her a joke sweater as a Valentine's gift. One that had a bee on the front and 'Bee Mine' stitched above in red bubble letters.

A silly gift, but she'd worn it around the house anyway. Antonio had giggled at it when he first saw her this morning and had traced the letters while sitting on her lap, waiting for the bus to pick him up. And she was still wearing it while she and her sister-in-law made heart-shaped cookies and pink-frosted brownies in her new kitchen.

"So, how's Antonio enjoying the new house?"

Gabi glanced up from the cookie she was currently frosting, a little surprised by the question. "Oh, he loves it, I think. Although he definitely misses you. He keeps asking me 'When are tio and tia coming for a visit?' almost every day."

And Isabel laughed and nodded at that. "Such a cutie. Well, we miss him too. The house feels so empty without you two."

She nodded, although she doubted that their house felt nearly as empty as this one did…

Not that she disliked her new home; quite the opposite really. They'd put so much work into the place. She finally felt proud of herself for something. Anytime she walked through the front door that she'd helped paint or looked at the curtains that she'd sewn. She felt proud of herself.

But it was still so empty. Just her and Tonio all alone.

How long had it been since they'd moved in? A week? And she still couldn't sleep. She'd lie awake for hours, tossing and turning, listening to every creak… And when she _did_ sleep, she was haunted by nightmares. Usually about Tonio. Of losing him or letting him get hurt…

She shook her head, forcing those memories away.

"You okay, sweetie?"

"I'm fine." She _had _to be fine. She was an adult; she had to be strong for her baby.

"If you want, I could spend the night tonight." Isabel was always so sweet. "I know it has to be rough, moving out on your own like this."

"It's fine." She finished frosting the cookie and placed it on the tray with the others. Isabel had come over to bake with her today—that was _more _than enough. "Besides, I'm not alone. I have Antonio."

And thankfully, Isabel didn't press the matter. She just smiled and nodded before taking another cookie from the plate and beginning to frost it.

St. Valentine's Day…

It was her least favourite American holiday. A painful holiday. Just a reminder of _him_ and the fairytale romance that she'd once believed in. She usually spent the day in her apartment, doing her best to avoid the outside reminders. She'd cuddle with her baby for most of the day. Read him stories from his books and play with his toys, anything to force the thoughts of _him _to the back of her mind, where they belonged.

This was the first year Antonio had been away. Off at school.

He'd been so excited about Valentine's Day. He'd chattered away to her about it this morning. And she'd helped him make paper valentines for all of his classmates. The biggest one for his little friend Lovina…

And she was brought back to the present by Isabel's voice. "I think I can hear the bus. If you want, I can finish frosting these so you can go meet him."

She immediately nodded, setting her knife down before hurrying to the doorway. Taking her jacket down from the coat-rack and sliding it on over her dress. "I'll be back in just a minute."

Sometimes she worried that she was too stifling with Antonio. That she didn't give him enough _space_. They spent so much time together, after all. She _always_ wanted to spend her time with him. Snuggling him, holding him, loving him... Maybe she _shouldn't _hurry outside to meet his bus like this.

But even if that was true, she really couldn't see how she _couldn't_… She missed him so much when he was away.

And now she walked outside, zipping her jacket up against the chill as she walked. And then froze on the porch. Startled. As Antonio had just jumped out of the bus with someone else…

A little someone, all bundled up in a bright yellow parka with a blue scarf and a blue hat covering his—or her—hair.

"Mamá!" And she was brought back to the present by Antonio's voice. As he ran toward her. "I brought home a friend, Mamá!"

She leaned down, pulling him into a tight embrace and accepting a warm kiss against her cheek… "I see that, querido. Who is your friend?"

The child had followed him at a much slower pace, probably at least slightly hampered by the rather unnecessary layers that he/she was currently wearing. But now she finally reached them and looked up at her.

With _red _eyes.

"Hi, Tonio's mommy! My name's Gillian!"

_Albino?_

The little girl was grinning at her, gazing up at her excitedly with ruby red eyes. Gabi just stared back, rather shocked. She'd never seen an albino person before.

But she hurriedly pushed the surprise away in favour of sending the little girl a smile and bending down to her level. "Hola, Gillian. It's nice to meet you."

"Tonio's right! You _are_ really pretty!"

And Gabi could _feel _her cheeks redden at that. "Ah, gracias…" She definitely hadn't expected that. "Do you want to come inside and play for a while? Tia and I just made cookies and…"

"Yay, cookies!" And she didn't even get to finish her sentence before the little girl was gone, running into the house.

Well…she was glad Antonio was making friends.

* * *

><p>AN: And done. Yay! So far after Valentine's Day…

Gabi needs a new boyfriend. Who will be super sweet and awesome and wonderful and amazing.


End file.
